"Profile"! Don't Profile Me Ya' Bum! Brady Quinn

We Bronco fans often sit back and dream of that special player on our team who can make the difference between going to the big party or just going home empty handed. what fair minded young man doesn't think about things like that? I know I do, and those chances for team glory don't just hang around on trees, they are born. Seeing that they aren't born every day, I guess we'll have to dream a little more... 

Brayden Tyler "Brady"/"Brady Bunch" Quinn came riding into town yesterday afternoon with the same dreams in the back of his mind. Brady was born in Columbus, Ohio on October 27, 1984 and went to Dublin Coffman High School in Dublin, Ohio, a suburb of Columbus. Sound familiar? Sure it does, he's another Ohio product known for it's ability to produce football players. While at Dublin Coffman Brady's football team ranked sixth on the Detroit Free Press "Best of the Midwest" team and was listed at number 20 on ESPN's list of the nation's top 100 players as a preparatory student.

Quinn threw for 2,200 yards and 21 touchdowns, posting a 9-4 record with which Coffman reached the Division I state finals in 2001 as a junior. In his senior year of 2002, he threw for 2,149 yards and 35 touchdowns with only four interceptions while also rushing for 108 yards and six touchdowns.

The Dublin Coffman "Shamrocks" quarterbacked by Quinn played in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl in San Antonio, Texas. Brady was named the Columbus Dispatch and Ohio Capital Conference Offensive Player of the Year and was an All-State choice. Besides playing football Brady was also named an All-Conference player in baseball as a junior and lettered three times. He was also a member of Young Life, the Rock Solid Club and Who's Who Among America High School Students.

Recruitment to Brady came by way of mouth and in the fall of 2002, then-Notre Dame head coach Tyrone Willingham offered Quinn a scholarship, acting on a tip from fellow recruit Chinedum Ndukwe's father.

Brady Quinn's college days~

Brady Quinn's career took off under the tutelage of Coach Willingham at the University of Notre Dame and ended up under Head Coach Charlie Weis (now Offensive Coordinator of the Kansas City Chiefs) where he broke nearly ever quarterback record in the schools history.

During the 2005 College Football season, Quinn completed 292 of 450 pass attempts for 3,919 yards and 32 touchdowns statistically making him one of the year's top performing QBs in NCAA Div. I-A college football. He finished the season 5th in total offense, 7th in pass efficiency, 7th in points responsible for, 6th in passing, 3rd in total passing yards, and 3rd in passing yards per game

During that year Notre Dame's Fighting Irish finished ranked 4th passing in the nation. Charlie Weis has been credited with the development of Quinn and his breaking 36 school records. There were ten career records, twelve single-season records, four single-game records and ten miscellaneous records broken by Quinn throughout those four years, including the record for career pass attempts with 1,602, completions with 929, yards-per-game with 239.6, touchdown passes with 95, and the Irish's lowest interception percentage with 2.43. Quinn won 29 games as a starter at Notre Dame, tied with Ron Powlus and Tom Clementsfor the most in school history. On the downside, his 17 losses are the most in school history, one more than Powlus' 16 losses, and are markedly more than Clements' 5 losses. Quinn ranks in the top ten in NCAA Division I history in career pass attempts (ranked seventh), passing yards (ranked tenth) and touchdown passes (ranked ninth).

Most people think about Brady Quinn as a competitor. He has always been determined and willing to give his all. His parents in Dublin, Ohio, Robin and Ty, raised him to be focused and to strive for all of his goals. “My parents have made the biggest influence on my life. I hate to admit it, but each day I will catch myself doing something just like them.”

Walking around campus you would never know how fierce a competitor he is, known for being the gentleman at school and off he offers this exclamation for it;

Quinn is also a strong Christian. “God has made a huge impact on my life and helped me through so many struggles,” he said of a topic to which he continually returned. In three words he describes himself as “a good Christian.” He continued by saying, “I try to live a good Christian life as much as possible. Christianity helps with the leadership roll that I believe quarterbacks need.”

Being strong spiritually isn't his only trait he holds, he is 6'4" (1.93 meters) tall and weighs in at 231 pounds (105 kilograms). Brady's football ability is helped by the fact that in addition to his athleticism, he is quite strong. He can bench press 350 pounds (160 kg), squat 475 pounds (215 kg) and also holds a Black Belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

While attending Notre Dame he majored in finances and political science and is described as a quiet, gentlemanly individual who would ultimately like to be an attorney. He was employed part-time by a Columbus, Ohio law office during the summer of 2005. Brady received pressure as soon as he arrived at Notre dame on field and off the field as it is already hard to hold up the prestigious Fighting Irish tradition. Going to Notre Dame has made him focus on studying and doing homework just like any other student at the university. In the future, after graduation, Quinn aspires to go to law school and become the attorney he has always dreamed of being.

At the end of his college career, Brady anxiously anticipated the draft where some had projected him being taken in the top 10. he was even being labeled as "The Franchise Quarterback" with comparison in the mold of Carson Palmer. Then the Combines came around and Brady would be there..But nursing a knee injury sustained during the Sugar Bowl, Quinn bypassed the drills and just held interviews..For much of his senior season, Quinn was considered a lock to be the No. 1 pick in the 2007 draft, but his prospects have been downgraded since he threw his last pass in a losing effort against Louisiana State in the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 3. Mel Kiper of Espn had this to say;

“Quinn is not the talk of the draft,” Mel Kiper Jr., the ESPN draft expert, said this week in a teleconference. “In fact, he’s lost momentum, so if he goes ninth, I think he should be happy.”

We've all seen what one game can do for an athlete's career. I mean we have afour-year starter at Notre Dame, where he threw for 11,762 yards and 95 touchdowns, what more could you ask for out of a guy? One glaring reason why Brady Quinn's draft status suddenly dropped off may have been the result of skipping out on going to the Senior Bowl. Rather choosing to let his ailing knee recover on the advise of noted orthopedic surgeon James Andrews.

Quinn did hold a private workout in March before the draft though and here are his results from that;

Name	Position	Height	Weight	40 Time	Misc. Notes
Brady Quinn	QB	6-3	232	4.73	Actually a tenth faster in his 40 than JaMarcus Russell, which seems a bit odd. Notched a 36-inch vertical and a 9-foot-7 broad jump. Ran the short shuttle in 4.22 and the 3-cone drill in 6.79. Looked great in all the drills. Should be back in the top 5, if not the top 3.
Derek Landri	DT	6-2	288	5.00	Benched 225 lbs. 26 times. Had a 32-inch vertical.

Come draft day Brady Quinn was in attendance and was really thinking he would drop from the number 1 spot down to the 3rd pick, where he figured the Cleveland Browns would take him...“I think economically that would be a good situation right now with them drafting in the third spot.” Quinn said. “But I’m not biased toward any team. Whatever team I go to play for, I’m going to be happy to play for.”

The Oakland Raiders had the first pick of that draft and with all eyes on Quinn, the tRaiders picked JaMarcus Russell, the tall quarterback out of LSU. Brady's heart began to pound just a little harder...Next up was the Detroit Lions and they selected Calvin Johnson the WR out of Georgia Tech. OK...[hands wringing together, beads of sweat starting to appear on forehead], the Browns are up now! Then came the announcement, The Cleveland Browns with the 3rd pick select...Joe Thomas OT Wisconsin...Brady's eyes lit up and he almost rose to his feet only to realize that it wasn't his name being called! Pained, sitting through pick after pick and growing more and more like he maybe should have stayed in bed on this day...Then, at the 22nd pick the Cleveland Browns selected him. His walk to the podium would cause some to question his motives...especially a fellow alumnus Joe Theismann;

Following the draft, Quinn was criticized by Joe Theismann in a radio interview, claiming that Quinn looked "unprofessional" when he was on stage following his name being called. Theismann was bothered by the appearance of Quinn's hair and the fact that he was chewing gum. Quinn responded by saying that he apologizes to "anyone, obviously, who is a Notre Dame alum, or for those fans who thought I wasn't being very business like," saying that he was there for a long time and that the last thing that he thought of after his name was called was whether he was chewing gum or straightening his tie. "I was just trying to get on stage as fast as possible and get that Browns jersey in my hand," Quinn said.

Sure the kid was disappointed and maybe rightly so, but after all it is the Cleveland Browns were talking about. I have wondered if the Brown didn't already promise him that they would take him at #3? Just a thought, and as a result of it Quinn would do a little holding out himself...

After an initial holdout, Quinn signed a five-year deal with the Browns worth a reported $20.2 million, with $7.5 million guaranteed and up to $30 million in incentives. However, his 10-day absence from training camp all but ensured he would not win the Browns' starting job during his rookie season.

For what it's worth I won't indulge in his 3 year stint in Cleveland, not because I don't think it's worth mentioning, it's just that I have as much respect for that organization that I do for the tRaiders. Brady Quinn's a Bronco now and I'll treat him the respect I treat all Bronco players...Until they show me different. So, what we have here is a well chiseled model figure of an athlete ready to prove his worth in Blue and Orange. The "Brady Bunch" as he was referred to in college has all of the tools necessary to make a fine quarterback in the NFL and if one coach could help him achieve his goals, it would be Coach McDaniels.

Brady Quinn will be our starting quarterback of the future...At least Adam Schefter seems to think so...And if he is, will we call him..."The Mighty Quinn"? I'll leave that up to you! #10 LIVES!!!

Poll

Will Brady Quinn ever be our starting quarterback?

78%

Yes, for sure in 2 or 3 years.

188 votes

15%

No, not on our team at least...Maybe somewhere else in the future.

37 votes

5%

Are you kidding? He couldn't wear a starters jock strap!

14 votes

239 votes | Poll has closed